quality
/ˈkwɑləti/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.11 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The kind, condition, and/or the set of characteristics of something, as opposed to the quantity of something.
Countable
noun
Good characteristics in particular; level of excellence; freedom of faults and flaws.
Uncountable
noun
In a two-phase liquid–vapor mixture, the ratio of the mass of vapor present to the total mass of the mixture.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The third step in OPQRST where the responder investigates what the NOI/MOI feels like.
Countable
Example Sentences
- "The lattice structure of a steel profoundly changes its qualities."
- "Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough? / Hiſt[rio]. O, I warrant you, Captaine: and ſpitefully inough too; he ha's one of the moſt ouerflowing villanous wits, in Rome. He will ſlander any man that breathes; If he diſguſt him. / Tucca. I'le know the poor, egregious, nitty Raſcall; and he haue ſuch commendable Qualities, I'le cheriſh him: […]"
- "“That's life,” she said, and buzzed off to keep her vigil, leaving me kicking myself because I'd forgotten to say anything about the quality of mercy not being strained. It isn't, as I dare say you know, and a mention of this might just have done the trick."
- "Something about his bearing was uncommitted, as though he were checking not for some bad quality he knew Feldman had, but for some good quality he was afraid he might have."
- "While being impulsive can be great for artists, it is not a desirable quality for engineers."
- "Security, stability, and efficiency are good qualities of an operating system."
Etymology
From Middle English qualite, from Old French qualité, from Latin quālitās, quālitātem, from quālis (“of what kind”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (“who, how”). Cicero coined qualitas as a calque to translate the Ancient Greek word ποιότης (poiótēs, “quality”), coined by Plato from ποῖος (poîos, “of what nature, of what kind”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *kʷ-, qualite, qualité, quālitās, *kʷo-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkwɑləti/
- British English: /ˈkwɒlɪti/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Archaic
- British usage